[ad_1]
NEWCASTLE, England – Liverpool finished 2020 as they started it, atop the Premier League and on pole position to end the season as champions, but Wednesday’s 0-0 draw against Newcastle United at St James’ Park showed that not everything is the same as 12 months ago.
– The Premier League has ‘full confidence’ the season will not stop
– Stream ESPN FC daily on ESPN + (US only)
The first goalless draw between these two clubs since 1974 highlighted the key difference between Liverpool today and the one that drifted away from the chasing group in the first half of last season. A year ago, Liverpool racked up points by finding the killer touch in tight matches and winning when margins were tight. But at St James’s, despite seeing players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino having clear chances to score, this Liverpool couldn’t open the door and convert one point into three.
That is becoming a recurring problem and explains why Liverpool enters 2021 locked into a title race rather than sliding to the top, as it was a year ago.
“We tied tonight and we are still at the top of the table, so that shows how difficult the season is for everyone,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
Klopp and Liverpool may be making lemonade out of their lemons, but right now it lacks a certain sweetness. A central factor in Liverpool’s title success last season was their ability to find a crucial winner in tight matches like this. They won 14 league games by a one-goal margin en route to the title, but this time they have done so only four times.
When Firmino headed in his goal in the 90th minute in Anfield’s 2-1 win against Tottenham two weeks ago, it seemed normal service had resumed. The subsequent 7-0 win at Crystal Palace three days later appeared to be an emphatic warning to the rest that Liverpool had found their scoring boots and would inevitably drift away at the top, leaving the rest behind them.
But Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to West Brom, threatened by relegation, was the kind of result Liverpool would always manage to turn into a win last season. And the same could be said for this match in Newcastle. Worryingly for Klopp, Liverpool managed just one shot on goal in the second half against West Bromwich Albion and his team repeated that statistic at St James’s.
1:29
The ESPN FC dashboard measures the Premier League title race heading into 2021.
Lack of creativity in midfield is a factor. Collectively, Liverpool’s midfielders have accumulated just three goal assists all season. Goals are still being made by the full-backs, seven of whom come from deliveries by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, but opponents have learned to suffocate Liverpool in midfield. Thiago Alcantara’s return to action as a substitute in the second half at Newcastle, more than two months after his last appearance against Everton, is a positive for Klopp and the Spaniard will make the difference, but Liverpool cannot give the A huge luxury lead at the top they had at this time a year ago and they face a genuine battle to keep their crown.
Although they finished 2019 with a 13-point lead over second-place Leicester City, having played one game less than the Foxes, the delayed start to this season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic means the year-over-year comparison is not a fair representation. of Liverpool’s diminished returns. But after 16 games last season, Liverpool were eight points clear after winning 15 and drawing one of those games. Now, they are three points clear of second-place Manchester United, who can match Liverpool if they win their match against Aston Villa on Friday.
In terms of goals, Klopp’s team is just three behind last season’s 40 tally after 16 games, but the seven scored at Palace distorts the picture a bit. Having lost points in draws against West Brom, Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, his inability to score when it matters is a problem that Klopp accepts has become a problem.
“We didn’t score enough in the other games,” he said gruffly, when asked to explain why he didn’t turn draws into wins. “Not scoring is just a concern if you don’t believe. If you believe, it’s just momentum. If you keep creating, you’ll score. I know we’ll score again, that’s right. It’s not a problem at the moment.” . “
Liverpool should have scored more than once at St James’s. Salah sent two shots from close range, Firmino had a well-saved header by Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow and Mane was only denied a clear shot at the net for Fabian Schar’s goal line clearance in the second half.
But the goal did not come and Klopp even replaced Salah, who missed his shot, late in the game, in an attempt to find a way. Having lost defender Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez to long-term knee injuries earlier this season, the concern at Liverpool was that defensive problems would become the obstacle in their bid to retain the title. But the reality is that it is the lack of cruelty at the other end of the field that is holding Liverpool back.
A year ago, they blew everyone away because they were so good at killing teams, but now their failure to do so keeps the title race alive.
